Tarnished
by justalongthemirroroferised
Summary: Dramione. Hogwarts/Post AU. "He was even prepared to wipe his own memory to keep her safe; it was a sacrifice he was willing to make." Rated M, for language, violence, and sexual themes. Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Draco took a deep, shuddering breath. His blood ran cold and time slowed as the excruciating seconds ticked past. His heart felt like it was being ripped into jagged fragments, as the crushing force of his reality struck him with more pain than he'd ever imagined possible. Agony flooded through his heart and it was all he could do to not give in and gather her in his arms. His hands trembled so badly that he could barely hold his wand aloft.

Silent tears trickled down his cheeks as she looked straight into his eyes, unafraid.

"Go on then. Do it." She was shaking, her hands clenched into fists. "What are you waiting for, Draco?"

He flinched as she said his name.

 _"_ I'm so sorry _."_ Hewhispered, his arm falling another fraction of an inch.

She squared her shoulders, her whole body tensed with adrenaline. She had to know how he felt, he couldn't let this be the end. He'd spent months agonizing over how he could possibly keep her safe. He was even prepared to wipe his own memory; it was a sacrifice he was willing to make to save her.

Everything had to be gone, she could never remember. The fact that she'd done the same to her parents only reinforced his belief that this was the only way.

But before she was lost to him forever, he couldn't bear to take away a memory she had yet to experience. "Hermione, promise me you won't hate me for this."

"It's too late for that." She half-snarled, her voice was shrill with distress.

As he steeled himself to blurt out the one thing he had never been brave enough to say, his second of hesitation was all she needed.

Hair flying, she darted forward, knocking the wand from his trembling hand. He reeled back in surprise as she tackled him; they rolled across the ground, his arms failing to pin her as she clawed her stolen wand from his pocket. Rearing back, she scrambled away from him and turned. He flung himself towards her as she disappeared, hands reaching out. Too late, he fell heavily, with the image of her now tear-stained cheeks burned into his mind. The loud crack of her disapparating echoed through the woods.

He was alone. The forest was silent, save for the wind gusting through the trees.


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione slammed the cover of an old tome shut, absentmindedly waving away the dust that flew into her face. She brushed her hair behind her ears and bent over her transfiguration essay once more.

Seeing sudden movement in her peripheral vision, she glanced up as a grinning Romilda Vane strode past her table. Shaking her hair over her face to hide the upturned corners of her mouth, she watched the fifth year brush past Harry, giving him what Hermione figured was her version of a winning smile.

Harry didn't even glance in her direction, too consumed in reading his dog-eared, stained potions textbook.

She returned to her books, satisfied. It was difficult enough having Ron glued to Lavender Brown all day long, she was glad for Harry's oblivious nature; it meant she wouldn't have to worry about being left behind when another girl came along.

That is, if he paid enough attention to any girl besides Ginny. Even if he wouldn't admit it yet; Ginny clearly knew. Hermione had already spent hours trying to persuade her to give Harry a chance. Nothing would shake his silly notion of being the "Chosen One" away faster than Ginny's sensible nature.

Harry flopped into the chair opposite her, and rocked back on two chair legs. "Hermione, what d'you reckon are the chances that you'd come back to the common room with me?"

"Right now, million to one. I have homework to finish."

"That's not what I meant."

She flicked her eyes up to meet his, and felt a tiny flash of triumph as he wilted slightly under her accusing glare. "Oh? And what, may I ask did you mean, exactly?"

"Well, Ron and I haven't seen each other in ages and-"

She shook her head impatiently, cutting him off mid-sentence. "Go then, don't let me stop you."

Ignoring the tiny emotional stab she always experienced when Ron was mentioned, she returned to her work. Harry sighed, and stood up.

"Alright, well if you want to come, I bet Ron would fancy a break from _her_ for a bit." He fluffed up his already untidy mop of hair and grimaced.

Hermione shook her head, aware that he could only be referring to Lavender. "I'm busy. Go on, I'll be fine here."

Harry ruffled up his hair again, and grabbed the textbook from the table. "See you later then."

She waved him away, already opening up yet another book.

As soon as he disappeared out the door, she sighed and slumped backwards into her chair. She knew that Harry was doing his best not to choose sides between her and Ron, but she was tired of the whole situation. It didn't help that Lavender was one of the six girls who shared her tower room.

Hermione could count on one hand the times she'd been able to fall asleep over the last several weeks without hearing giggling from several of the other girls as they gossiped. There had never been any issues between Hermione and Lavender in the past, but the fact that Hermione wasn't a fan of Ron's relationship made things a bit tense. She'd taken to turning into bed as late as possible and waking up at the crack of dawn, limiting her chances of seeing Lavender to in class and the occasional morning.

She'd even started using Moaning Myrtle's bathroom again; anything to avoid the gossiping that also took place daily at the lavatory mirror. Myrtle also shared her dislike of Lavender, albeit for different reasons.

( _"She's far too cheerful; she hasn't got a shred of sympathy for how I died. And in my bathroom, it's dreadfully rude."_ She'd sniffed disdainfully.)

Hermione had even started keeping a tally of how many times Lavender had asked her to analyze Ron's eating habits. Lavender was convinced that Ron eating toast every morning meant he was serious about commitment, which left Hermione baffled and confused. Why couldn't Lavender accept that Ron simply liked toast? He was British after all; it was hardly abnormal.

She had endured this constant interrogation until the previous Saturday, she'd finally lost her cool. There was something about the way that Lavender had chosen to phrase her question that she couldn't stand.

 _"Aren't you supposed to be friends with him? It's sad how you don't know him at all."_

It was that moment that she realized that she couldn't stand Lavender. Hermione was satisfied in telling Lavender that she'd had an epiphany and that toast was something Ron ate when he was feeling conflicted or depressed. Lavender had practically yelped and scurried away, Harry had nearly passed out from laughing.

One tiny victory didn't mean that what Lavender had said didn't still hurt.

So the place where she'd always felt at home became her little sanctuary. A library was not a place for gossip and she was left alone, with the exceptions of Harry, Ginny, Neville, and Luna. Ron was an emptiness she would not allow herself to feel, he obviously wasn't worth mooning over if he was interested in a flighty, insipid girl like Lavender.

It had only taken her a week of crying to come to that conclusion, and she wasn't budging. She knew deep down that she did care, but she simply didn't have time to waste on him.

Finally finishing her work several hours later, she stood up and stretched.

She appeared to be the only one left in the library, which she loved. Closing up was her favorite part of the day, which also meant that all of her roommates had already gone to bed. Humming quietly to herself, she pulled out her wand. _Swish and flick._

Her pile of textbooks rose soundlessly into the air and she directed them towards their respective shelves. Flicking her wand at each one, she watched them settle into their places. Yawning, she pulled yet another four volumes from the shelves and strode back towards the table.

Settling back into her chair, she glanced up at a sound. Moving instinctively, she had her wand out and pointed at the intruder when she realized that it was none other than Draco Malfoy perusing the isles of books to her left. It was after hours, so he had to be up to no good.

She took a deep breath and hunkered down, pretending she wasn't there. The last thing she needed right then was for him to start giving her a hard time. He was alone, which was unusual, given that he usually had a convoy of minions that escorted him everywhere.

She was focusing so intently on looking busy that he had to drop several textbooks on the table for her to look up. Wearily she turned her attention to him, expecting a barrage of insults to her looks, intelligence and lineage as per usual.

He just looked tired, and generally disinterested. "Prefect meeting tomorrow at eight. Mcgonagall's room."

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "Fully aware, I got the owl this morning."

He glared at her, haughty as per usual. "Tell Weasley about it, I can't be bothered."

With that, he turned on his heel, and strode out of the library. Hermione glared after him, annoyed that he thought her thoughtless enough as to forget a prefect meeting. _He must have paid an extraordinarily large bribe to get the position in the first_ _place._

He clearly knew that she and Ron weren't on good terms, but it was unlike him to put so little effort into riling her up. Even so, she was relieved that he hadn't said anything cruel. She was too drained to put up much of a fight, though she wouldn't be against punching him again.

He'd also left the pile of tomes on the table, and she waved her wand angrily at them. Her wave was a little too enthusiastic, they flew off the table and smacked onto the floor. The sound echoed like a gunshot through the now silent library and she swore.

Hurriedly, she returned them to the shelves and gathered her things. Darting through the corridors, she narrowly missed being detected by Filch. Hidden behind a statue, she grinned and hurried towards the Gryffindor tower as soon as the coast was clear.


End file.
